Disclaimers: These guys aren't mine, they don't belong to me, worst luck, so don't bother me.

Archive: Fine, but if you want it, please ask first.

Feedback: Hell, yes.

Note: Remember that old comic where Robin (Dick Grayson) is shot by the Joker and causes Batman to flip out and fire the lad? That's what this is based on.

Interested Bystanders

"This is indefensible! No matter what his age is now—and I doubt that he's a legal adult—to allow him, as well as the other young 'side-kicks', to be continuously placed in situations where they're in mortal danger—and to have it sanctioned by our Police Commissioner, no less, it's incredible and I, for one, intend to get to the bottom of this thing being not only permitted but actively endorsed, encouraged and applauded!"

Senator Helmsley concluded his press conference in time for it to make the evening news, as planned. The incident he was ranting against was everywhere, both that night and over and over again on every channel, pictures from the tape printed and reprinted in every paper and magazine and papered across the Internet. They were impossible to miss, full color, costumes and blood displayed like a bad action film, complete with a dark and stormy city night as the background.

Batman and Robin were fighting the Joker again. The three of them on a city roof top, Joker's helicopter flying close in to rescue the madman, a news station eye in the sky helicopter filming the scene. The cameraman caught Joker drawing a large hand-held gun, aim, fire, then Robin crumbling as his shoulder exploded in a shower of blood and gore—the sound of the gunshot audible over the roar of the chopters blades and engines. The horror was compounded as the criminal managed an escape, Batman concerned with his partner who'd been thrown backwards by the impact, his feet slipping on the edge of the wet roof and the sight of the boy falling off the building broadcast live to who knew how many millions of homes.

Everyone watching the newscast or tuning in to You Tube caught Batman diving after Robin, barely catching him, preventing his fall from the ledge he'd landed on, forty-seven stories above the street then both of them disappearing on the end of a jump line, as if in thin air.

There were no statements, no one knew if Robin was dead or alive. No one fitting anything close to his description was admitted to any hospital or clinic with a hundred mile radius. There was no information, no announcement and both the public and the media were screaming for information and answers.

The firestorm wasn't going away, it was building and would come to a head no matter what happened now.

In Wayne Manor a firestorm of another type was burning, unmindful of the publicity nightmare about to land on the entire Hero Community.

"I've made my decision and you'll accept it."

"The hell I will—you can't do this; I AM Robin and had been for almost ten years. You can't..."

"That's enough, the decision is final and you'll..."

"Screw you—you're upset now? I've been knifed, shot, poisoned, beaten, tortured for nine years and now you decide that this is too dangerous and you can't be responsible? Where was all this semi-parental concern when I was ten years old? I'm almost eighteen, I'm two months away from being a legal adult and I can do whatever I want."

"'Live in my house, live by my rules."

"Fine."

"Excuse me?"

"I'll leave, I'll stay at the Tower."

"You're not going anywhere until that shoulder heals, young man. Bruce, you're not helping the situation. I suggest that you remove yourself until everyone has had a chance to calm down, get some rest and see how things appear in the morning." Reluctantly and with none too good grace, Bruce spent the next few hours down in the cave while Dick, thanks to pain meds, spent them sleeping.

The next morning things had, indeed, settled, though not for the better. When Alfred brought up his breakfast tray he found that Dick Grayson, Robin, left during the night, leaving a note that, if necessary, he could be contacted at Titan's Tower. But only if it were absolutely necessary.

Sad, though not all that surprised, he carried the tray to the family dining room and placed the filled plates in front of the Master, waiting with his nose buried in the Wall Street Journal. He met the odd service with a raised eyebrow. "Is Dick better?"

"I'm afraid that I wouldn't know, I found this on his pillow."

'I'm at the Tower and will stop in to see Dr. Leslie if I need anything for my shoulder. I have some ideas about how to resolve the argument from last night and will be in touch when I have everything in place and worked out.

D'

Bruce nodded as though he'd expected last night's threat would be carried out.

"You're not going after him?"

"Not yet, no. He says it himself." He gestured to the note on the table, "He has some things to work out; he'll come around soon enough and be back."

"I wish I had your confidence about that, sir." His face was as schooled to neutrality as ever when Bruce clicked on the TV, the morning news shows delivering the overnight headlines.

'In a move which surprised no one after the recent graphic footage of Robin's shooting and obviously serious injury while attempting to apprehend the Joker, Senator Helmsley has introduced a bill which would forbid any costumes heroes becoming active until they are of legal age, in this case until they're at least twenty-one years old. This would effectively put the Teen Titans out of business and stop the activities of every side-kick now working in law enforcement. The Senator spoke with us earlier today:

'It's irresponsible, it's nuts to let these kids run wild and roughshod over the bounds of any kind of commonsense—these are kids—kids! They get hurt—we have plenty of proof of that; do we even know if Robin is still alive? This has to stop—it simply has to!'

The reaction was swift, politicians, religious leaders, educators and columnists took sides in time for the next major newscasts. CNN and MSNBC ran the story to the exclusion of almost everything else. Kids in playgrounds voiced their opinions, insisting that the Titans could do anything—anything!—and were awesome. The White House announced that an investigation into the young heroes activities for the CIA and FBI would be closely looked at and the propriety of the whole mess was debated in both Houses of Congress as well as in foreign Parliaments.

The Hero Community, and Batman and Robin in particular, has no comment.

At least not yet.

TBC